For over a decade, Canadian real estate markets and their lenders have acted like the housing price ratchet could only go one way: up. Now they’re finding out that the price ratchet can go the other way too.
The result was a sudden stampede of buyers who triggered an unprecedented run-up that put the average sale price of a traditional, ranch-style, Brantford bungalow close to $900,000 at the market peak in 2022 compared to a mere $300,000 or so in 2016.
Flash forward, and the average home in Brantford in February sold for $625,135, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, a 30 per cent drop from 2022 that has saddled homeowners there with an unexpected housing crisis that Canadians…are all too familiar with today.
So the market has all gone to ratchet!?
No, all the liberal voters in the east can stay there now. Housing is affordable. See Carney said so.
Do not come west.
We’re all trogs. Not trans. Lear to read.
Red Nik Deporable
“..30 per cent drop from 2022 that has saddled homeowners there with an unexpected housing crisis..”
Yup, I would be saddened if saddled with a paper loss of $300,000 after buying a house for $900,000. Plus I would whine about not waiting until the price dropped, then I would have had a big savings on the mortgage. Oh boo hoo hoo. Shoot me now!
Hi Mrs Canuck, how is the welfarer doing these dayz?
It’s Mr. Canuck, thank you very much.
F.Y.I. I have never ever collected welfare or E.I. Now go stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
“Mr.”? “Mrs.”? I thought the “nb” stood for “neuterbeast”.
@ebt:
Oh, you think you are so funny. ha ha not.
‘sokay, the Lieberals have their “majority” now and everything will be better
You just wait and see.
I have believed for many years that the real estate boom of skyrocketing prices could not sustain itself. Priced itself out of affordability for the average worker.
Still needs to drop considerably more to reflect reality.
Historically the wage to home price ratio in Canada was 3x-5x income. If the average household income is 80k to 100k then the price of single family homes needs to come down substantially. At 4x income that would be in the 320k to 400k range, or income levels need to go way up. Canada’s biggest cities have a wage to house prices in excess of 8x wages. A housing crash will be painful but necessary.
Well that’s part of it, but the missing part of the equation is mortgage rates. Back in the 1970’s prices were lower because mortgage rates were much higher. It’s not just the price of homes, but the size of the interest on mortgage payments.
Right you are. Back in 1973, we bought our first (very modest) home for $24,000 but we carried a 9.5% mortgage on same. Some six years later, we moved to a quieter street and a nicer home but for a lot more money. The condition for selling our first home was that we carried a second mortgage on it, so called on parents to help us out (and repaid with interest). Second home we watched mortgage rate to up to 16% but – since we had a credit union loan – we had for some years been able to pay extra so we weren’t slammed by the interest rate increase.
But we also noted, in the early ’80s, that real estate was seriously depressed and a fair few families found themselves with mortgages higher than the value of their homes. In Alberta at that time, there was a provision (think left over from the depression) which allowed people to essentially abandon their homes without having the outstanding mortgage hanging over them. Knew a family which did that and then relocated to Ontario where husband could find work.
Fast forward, and all the offspring own their own homes. But when youngest decided to move from apartment condo to a semi-detached real home with yard and garage, we were glad to be able to front the down payment on the new home until the condo could be sold. It’s what families do; am thinking Mum and Dad were sitting on their cloud watching all the various interactions with the banks etc and giving an hearty “thumbs up”.
Homer Simpson said it best: “Bed goes up. Bed goes down…”
My son is currently negotiating the purchase of a house in Winnipeg for just the amount remaining on the mortgage because the owner, an engineer, and his doctor wife, are leaving Canada.
In completely unrelated news (to Canadians) … the S&P 500 has hit new highs … despite Trump’s illegal war [sic]. Despite alllllllll the truly heinous and awful things the BadOrangeMan says and does. I’ve got more cash in my pockets … but Canada has elbows out and fealty to communist China (who are promptly buying up your suddenly discounted housing)
And … the NASDAQ is at nearly its all time high! Thank you, President Trump!
And on April 15 … America’s tax due date … I have never paid lower taxes since I started in the workforce full time in 1979. Thank you President Trump!
Pssst … if you believe the FAKE media lies about Trump … or your Canadian great grandmother boomer’s hatred for Trump … you’re just an uninformed TDS fool.
Funny eh, I read that article and I didn’t see anything about how the Wuhan flu helped create the buyer feeding frenzy that jacked up home prices to ridiculous figures.
“…I read that article and I didn’t see anything about how the Wuhan flu…”
Yes, isn’t it interesting how they’ve started leaving that out. Like none of us can remember five years ago, and how the feeding frenzy was pumped by the media…
I’m enjoying my 100% media boycott. They never get a click from me.
You mean the time of Free Money being pumped into the economy ?
Brantford isn’t really representative of Ontario, because the only reason anyone lives there is that Hamilton/Burlington/Oakville are too expensive. It’ll be the first to feel the pain.
But the real news is that this pain is the -direct- result of government action. It’s deliberate policy. They’re destroying the value of the only asset most people have, and they’re doing it purposefully.
Elbows up, you boomer morons.
l cant help but think somewhere, somehow the boyz with the REAALLLLLLLLLLLLY deep pockets are
wont to scoop up proppadies at some bargoon prices. the one that think very long term.
leading to a condition l also expect is looming at some pint where gigacorporations own everything
but ye ‘clothse on yer back’. subscriptions for everyday appliances, subscriptions for autos we already have
some of that. you rent your furniture you rent your accommodations.
all is well. you are happy and own nothing. sound familiar? its coming.